Impress employers and recruiters.
Choose from hundreds of resume examples.
Impress employers and recruiters.
Choose from hundreds of resume examples.
Target Resume Now
About the Role
The Director of Donor Experience leads Guiding Eyes for the Blind's annual giving strategy, focusing on creating meaningful donor experiences to inspire engagement, loyalty, and long-term support. This role collaborates across the organization to ensure every donor interaction reflects Guiding Eyes' commitment to gratitude, transparency, excellence, and authentic relationships.
Responsibilities
- Develop and implement annual giving strategies that support the Vice President of Philanthropy's strategic priorities.
- Design and continuously improve the donor journey across all annual giving channels.
- Use donor insights and analytics to improve retention, recurring giving, and donor lifetime value.
- Develop qualification strategies that prepare donors for mid-level and major giving.
- Lead direct mail, digital fundraising, email, online giving, and integrated annual campaigns.
- Manage campaign planning, segmentation, testing, vendors, and performance evaluation.
- Ensure fundraising channels work together to provide one seamless donor experience.
- Serve as an ambassador for Guiding Eyes during donor visits, organizational events, community engagements, and other stakeholder interactions.
- Communicate the mission, impact, and philanthropic priorities of Guiding Eyes to donors, volunteers, corporate partners, and other constituents.
- Partner with the Development and Marketing & Communications teams to support fundraising, awareness, stewardship, and engagement initiatives.
- Provide oversight to corporate engagement activities and cultivation efforts.
- Work in partnership with the Vice President of Philanthropy and Development Team to plan and execute various special events, including the annual Golf Classic.
- Supervise assigned annual giving staff, including direct response and digital fundraising functions.
- Coach and develop team members while fostering collaboration and accountability.
- Partner with Marketing & Communications, Programs, and Philanthropy colleagues to deliver consistent donor experiences.
- Manage budgets and program performance while recommending continuous improvements.
- Lead or support special projects and organizational initiatives.
- Perform other duties as assigned in support of the mission and goals of Guiding Eyes.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in a related field (Business Administration, Nonprofit Management, Marketing, Communications, or similar), or equivalent experience.
- Five (5) to seven (7) years of progressively responsible fundraising experience, including leadership of annual giving, donor engagement, and integrated fundraising in a nonprofit setting.
- Demonstrated success leading direct response, digital fundraising, and donor stewardship programs.
- Experience managing integrated campaigns, budgets, and vendor relationships.
- Experience supervising and developing staff.
- Strong judgment, critical thinking, and decision-making skills.
- Ability to manage multiple projects and competing demands in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.
- Flexibility and adaptability in navigating organizational change.
- Strategic thinker able to translate organizational priorities into effective fundraising and donor engagement strategies.
- Strong data-informed decision-making, including analyzing fundraising data and program performance to identify improvement opportunities.
- Commitment to innovation, continuous improvement, and enhancing the donor experience.
- Ability to build and lead high-performing teams while fostering accountability, collaboration, and professional growth.
- Exceptional verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
- Skilled at building relationships with donors, corporate partners, and vendors — and translating those relationships into sustained support.
- Effective at building consensus across departments to align fundraising efforts with the broader organization.
- Able to work independently while staying accountable to a team.
- Leads with integrity, empathy, and transparency; represents Guiding Eyes credibly with both internal and external audiences.
- Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office programs and donor management/CRM systems; Salesforce savvy a plus.
- Ability to analyze fundraising data, generate reports, and leverage insights to drive performance.
- Ability to travel locally for donor meetings, events, and organizational activities, as needed.
- Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends in support of fundraising events and donor engagement activities.
- Master's degree preferred.
- CFRE certification preferred.
- Experience supporting corporate partnerships, sponsorships, and fundraising events.
- Experience developing strategies to increase donor retention, recurring giving, and donor lifetime value.
- Must be authorized to work in the United States.
Skills
- Direct response fundraising
- Digital engagement
- Donor stewardship
- Analytics
- Donor communications
- Corporate engagement
- Special events
- Annual giving strategy
- Direct mail
- Digital fundraising
- Email marketing
- Online giving
- Campaign planning
- Segmentation
- Testing
- Vendor management
- Performance evaluation
- Relationship building
- Budget management
- Staff supervision
- Team leadership
- Microsoft Office proficiency
- CRM systems proficiency
- Salesforce
- Data analysis
- Report generation
Location
- On-site
Work Type
- Full-time
Experience Level
- 5-7 years of fundraising experience
- Leadership experience
Education Level
- Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent experience
- Master's degree preferred
- CFRE certification preferred
Salary/Compensations
- $125k - $160k
Benefits
- Competitive and generous healthcare (Medical/Dental/Vision)
- 403(b)
- Life Insurance
- Paid Time Off and Holidays
- Bring your well-behaved dog to work
About the Company
- At Guiding Eyes for the Blind, we are passionate about connecting exceptional dogs with individuals seeking greater independence.
- We are dedicated to creating and supporting life-changing partnerships between people and dogs.
- At our facilities, we breed, raise, and train exceptional guide dogs – and match them with individuals ready to embrace a life of greater freedom, confidence, and possibility.
- Our incredible dogs make our mission possible – and working with them will inspire you!
- We put our clients first, striving to exceed their expectations by providing exceptional dogs trained to meet their unique needs and empower them to live the lives they choose.
- We believe philanthropy is about more than fundraising. It's about building meaningful relationships with people who share our commitment to creating life-changing guide dog partnerships.
- At Guiding Eyes, you'll work alongside passionate, caring professionals who are united by a love of dogs and a shared commitment to our mission.
- Together, we help create life-changing partnerships between people and guide dogs while connecting donors to the extraordinary impact their generosity makes possible.
- If you're looking for meaningful work in a collaborative, purpose-driven environment, we'd love to hear from you.
Equal Opportunity
- EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER M/F, D/V